Panasonic S3 vs Sony A7 III

Following is a extended review of the Panasonic S3 and Sony A7 III, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by rivals Panasonic and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the S3 (14MP) and A7 III (24MP) and the S3 (1/2.3") and A7 III (Full frame) boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The S3 was announced 8 years earlier than the A7 III which is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Panasonic S3 being a Compact camera and the Sony A7 III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before we go right into a step-by-step comparison, here is a short highlight of how the S3 matches up against the A7 III with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Panasonic Lumix DMC-S3 & Sony Alpha A7 III. The whole galleries are viewable at Panasonic S3 Gallery & Sony A7 III Gallery.

For those who are aiming to carry around your camera often, you will want to factor in its weight and proportions. The Panasonic S3 has outside measurements of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 117 grams (0.26 lbs) while the Sony A7 III has measurements of 127mm x 96mm x 74mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.9") with a weight of 650 grams (1.43 lbs).

Check out the Panasonic S3 and Sony A7 III in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the S3 versus the A7 III.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the S3 and A7 III is 96 and 63 respectively.

Usually, it is very hard to see the difference between sensor sizes only by reading specs. The pic below will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizing in the S3 and A7 III.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The S3 with its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sony A7 III will offer you more detail with its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also make it easier to crop images way more aggressively. The more aged S3 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.